Congresswoman Barbara Lee Statement on Passage of the American Health Care Act

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement after the House passed the American Health Care Act by a partisan 217 to 213 margin.

“The American Health Care Act (AHCA) is an evil bill that rips healthcare from 24 million Americans while handing $600 billion to the wealthy and big corporations. This heartless legislation allows states to gut essential health benefits that require insurers to provide basic services like maternity care, cancer screenings and mental healthcare.

“The drastic cuts in the Republican repeal plan gut services for children with disabilities, increases costs for cancer patients, steals from seniors and allows insurance companies to price-gouge people with pre-existing conditions.

“Today Republicans’ core values were on full display, demonstrating the disgusting belief that only the rich are worthy of access to healthcare. Losing the lifesaving coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act would be a death sentence for thousands of Americans. I urge Republicans in the Senate to reject this disastrous bill and work with Democrats to improve the Affordable Care Act.”